Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s leading cryptocurrency, has set a new all-time high for the second time this week. On Friday, March 8th, just days after breaking its record price from 2021, BTC was trading above $70,000.
As per data from Coinbase, Bitcoin rose as high as $70,099, beating the previous record price of $69,324 set on March 5th. However, the apex cryptocurrency immediately fell 4% to around $67,000, similar to what had happened three days earlier.
Bitcoin Leaps Over $69,000 To Set New ATH But Immediately Dropped 4% of Its Value
Bitcoin abruptly took a sharp U-turn on Tuesday just minutes after reaching a fresh peak. The cryptocurrency came all the way down to $60,000 before quickly making up lost ground and returning to $66,000 by the end of the day. Since then, it has been gradually gaining value, which resulted in the cryptocurrency setting another all-time high.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $68,368 – up 2% in the last 24 hours.
Bitcoin attained tremendous growth since the turn of the year, putting behind the market’s woes from 2022 when it was going through a prolonged bear cycle that led to BTC falling to a historic low of $16,000 in the days following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.
Over the last 30 days alone, the crypto asset has risen by more than 60%, doubling its price since October 2023.
The recent price performance of Bitcoin is underpinned by a combination of factors, including technological advancements, regulatory shifts, and macroeconomic conditions.
Spot BTC ETFs and Expectation of Block Reward Halving Make Their Mark on Bitcoin Prices
Much of Bitcoin’s surge can be attributed to the excitement over the January approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The funds have been a major success among institutional investors, as they have witnessed billions of dollars worth of record-breaking trading volume daily of late.
Another major influence in dictating the Bitcoin market is the “halving” event that is scheduled to take place in April. During the halving, which happens approximately every four years, the amount of BTC given as a reward to miners will be slashed in half. This is done to protect the value of the cryptocurrency by reducing its circulating supply while increasing demand.
Historically, halving has had a significant impact on Bitcoin’s price.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market is also responding to the US Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rates. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell recently indicated that the central bank is confident that it can return inflation to the 2% target to begin reducing borrowing rates on the dollar.
BlackRock To Buy Shares in Global Bitcoin ETFs and Invest in Futures Tracking BTC
Elsewhere, on March 7th, leading asset manager BlackRock applied with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to add Bitcoin exposure to its BlackRock Global Allocation Fund. As per the company, the fund is looking to buy shares of spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as well as invest in BTC futures.
The Global Allocation Fund, which has $17.83 billion in assets under management, will only invest in Bitcoin-focused exchange-traded products (ETPs) listed and traded on national security exchanges. The fund may also include shares of BlackRock’s own spot BTC ETF – the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), according to Thursday’s filing.
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